Couple Plead Not Guilty to Disrupting Airline Flight
A Santa Barbara couple accused of pouring hot coffee on two flight attendants and threatening to open emergency doors during a commercial airline flight pleaded not guilty Monday before a federal judge in Los Angeles.
If convicted, Thomas Kasper and Susan Callihan could be sentenced to life in prison for the mayhem they allegedly caused on a July 14 Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles, prosecutors said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Rosalyn Chapman set a Sept. 23 trial date.
The pair is charged with interference with the performance or duties of a flight crew member or flight attendant by assault or intimidation, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert Borthwick.
Kasper, 36, also was indicted on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon because he allegedly poured two pots of hot coffee on two flight attendants, causing second-degree burns on one of them.
Kasper and Callihan, 28, were both free on bail.
Authorities say Kasper became unruly after the couple was refused an upgrade to first class. Callihan and Kasper threatened to open exit doors and endanger passengers during the flight, an FBI affidavit stated.
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